PARIS: The European Parliament has re-elected Ursula von der Leyen to a second term as President of the European Commission. The vote was li...
PARIS: The European Parliament has re-elected Ursula von der Leyen to a second term as President of the European Commission. The vote was livestreamed on the European Commission website.
Von der Leyen’s candidacy was supported by 401 out of 720 Members of the European Parliament.
Von der Leyen has been serving as the President of the European Commission since December, 2019. During the meeting, she was criticized by both the left and the right, who accused her of not fulfilling her obligations during her first mandate, of destroying the European economy and of failing to implement anti-poverty measures. Meanwhile, she was supported by the European People's Party, which nominated her.
Previously, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the European Commission failed to provide sufficient access to contracts on procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, and partially violated EU norms by removing the legal responsibility for side effects from vaccine makers. The court specified that the contracts in question amounted to about 2.7 billion euros and were signed in 2020 and 2021. They involved shipment of over 3 billion vaccines. The contracts were signed under von der Leyen’s personal supervision, even before clinical trials were carried out.
The court ruling does not carry legal consequences for the President of the European Commission. It can only be used as grounds for consecutive addressed lawsuits, which represent the people who suffered from the vaccines in Europe, against the European Commission and its head. In particular, the Liege Court is reviewing a case against von der Leyen under charges of corruption during procurement of Pfizer vaccines. The next hearing is scheduled for December 6.
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